Jonathan: corruption blown out of proportion

President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday in Windhoek, Namibia, that corruption in Nigeria is being blown out of proportion thereby affecting the image of the country.

He also said the government would no longer treat the Boko Haram insurgency with kid gloves.

The President spoke at two events a in the southern African country –when he met with host President Hifikepunye Pohamba at the Conference Hall of the Namibia State House and during a meeting with the Nigerian community at the Country Club, Windhoek.

He told the Nigerians that “corruption is everywhere but it is over-celebrated in the country to the extent that the nation and its people are stigmatised.”

The president stressed that while his administration would not condone the menace, using big stick would not be a solution to end corruption.

He said in fighting corruption, government had continued to strengthen the relevant institutions.

The president said that with the promulgation of decrees and laws stipulating capital punishment for armed robbery, the menace had not stopped.

The president called on every Nigerians to resolve to do the right thing and support the government in its efforts at building a new Nigeria.

He assured that if all hands were on deck and the citizens cooperated with the government, the nation would be completely transformed in the next 10 years.

“The green passport should be a symbol of honour, respect and dignity, not humiliation,” he said.

He described Nigeria as a great country, adding that with certain definite steps the administration was taking, it would take its rightful position in the globe.

Jonathan assured the gathering that with all the political tension being created by the opposition in the country, he would not play politics with the development of the nation.

He said the government had taken pragmatic steps to end the challenges of oil theft and piracy before 2015.

According to him, the Federal Government has decided to put more force into curtailing the activities of the Boko Haram group that is unleashing terror in the Northeast region.

He solicited the support of his Namibian counterpart and world leaders in stamping out terrorism globally.

He said: “The issue of global terror is worrisome and in Nigeria, we believe that a terror attack on anywhere in the world is a terror attack on everyone. It may be more in one country compared to the other, for instance, in the Northeastern parts of Nigeria, three states out of 36 states, we are having incidents of terror.

“Initially, we handled it with kid-gloves but now we have decided to be a little more forceful because we must thrash out these terror groups. We must not allow it to continue to slow down economic growth in that part of the country.

“With the terror attacks in that part of the country, the rest of the country feels it because Nigerians live everywhere. In these other parts, there is always the fear that if you do not tackle it, it will infiltrate into other parts.

“We will work together to ensure that terror attack is stamped out globally and in Nigeria we are committed,” he said

Dr. Jonathan thanked Pohamba for his country’s support for Nigeria’s election as a non-permanent member of the United Nations (UN).

Dr Jonathan on a two-day visit, stressed the need for at least two seats in the UN Security Council for Africa. “I also believe in your philosophy that if by God’s grace, the UN Security Council will be restructured, that is, if the super powers will allow it to be restructured, Africa should be considered at least for two positions to represent the interest of African people.

“I always say it that we cannot talk of democracy when the strongest institutions globally are not democratic but dictated to by one country alone.

“If we must practice democracy and emphasise that all countries must be democratic, we need to start from these powerful UN institutions that all parts of the globe must have a say there,” he said.

President Jonathan underscored the need for African leaders to promote intra-African trade for jobs creation and the development of the continent.

He noted that the continent must consolidate the regional economic blocs for economic integration.

“If we can consolidate the regional economic blocs to become solid, then, we can integrate the economic blocs before going to political integration.

“I always believe that our founding fathers in the days of OAU, their vision was for Africa to become a single big continent.

“I remember the late President of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi, his dream was that political boundary should collapse for Africa.

“But we believe that it is good to envision that kind of development, but first, we must consolidate the regional economic blocs,” he said.

Pohamba said that his country would forever remain grateful to Nigeria for the contribution and sacrifice towards the attainment of independence.

corruption in Nigeria can not be overstated as it now seems that corruption has been legalized. If we had a judicial system that was really active and true to equity then the image of Nigeria will not be parried in the mud as it is but even the judiciary is curropt.

ola

Imagine we Sud support n cooperate In building corrupt nation, who says corruption is over celebrated…..Nigeria is in trouble.

Akanbi Salau

The PDP with lies. The president has exported his party’s lies abroad. Corruption that is so endemic; he has a hand in every corrupt acts. Diezani was alleged to have service airplane with N10bn! He believe those he is speaking to in Namibia are unaware of happenings elsewhere. He should come back home and face the job of governance. Those people are wiser than him. They know their right from left.

princehubert

No one can truly launder the image of Nigeria without doing the needful,that is,killing corruption. Corruption is in both high and low places,so trying to down play it wont help at all,it will further reduce the country and its corrupt leaders to the level of cajolment.. Corruption is done with a lot of impunity in Nigeria,almost transparently because everything is official and virtually all those in power are involved in this mindless pillage of the nations resources.

Akanbi Salau

I wonder if those people he carried his campaign to in Namibia are as foolish.

Squadron Leader

Jonathan! If while we are executing armed robbers, the country was being developed at the same time, robbery would have reduced drastically. So execution alone will not stop robbery. The country and it’s citizens need to be developing as well. All decrees, laws and policies, must be followed with change, development, or improvement for all. Using armed robbery situation and it’s punishment as an example, to kind of justify your tactics of fighting corruption in Nigeria, says so much, why someone like Alamesigha is pardoned. If we must kill or execute armed robbers so too corrupt government officials must be executed, and if not, let’s have a very long jail term, with hard labour, with all assert frozen and seized. Corrupt officials in China are either jailed for a long time or executed. Nigeria can do the same, we can do it, let’s do it, to bring sanity to our dearly beloved country.

El Farigo

How far can stupidity go! As far as our president is concerned, corruption is just a word invented to describe business in Nigeria. So business as usual. Lord have mercy.

Henryproud Oputa

We have become a nation where every street contains at least TEN churches yet we are the most stressed and the most corrupt place in the world and a nation of only “leaders” no “citizens”.

DJSundayTowers

A message for the Nigerians 2014.01.21 10.45.00 PM
God created everything for His own reasons, thus life exist in many different the
identities He created. We thus grow from one’s different identity to another
within the many identities of God’s creations; be it heterosexual man or woman,
gay or lesbian, bisexual or transgender, plants or animal, the stars in the
heavens or the waters of the seas and the rivers in all their splendor of
fishes and things yet discovered. So when you unjustly banish, kill, or imprison identities, one diminishes the wholesomeness of one’s own identity. You lose a part of that which was meant for you to grow along with and towards the light of God’s own identity, which is the Spirit of His love to be in us as it is in Him.

Nigeria cannot be vindicated from its accusation of corruption nor ask for the or another seat within the UN, for it gone against its international Human rights agreement in doing what it has done to its gay citizens. There is no sympathy for a country who justifies abusing the least of its defenseless minorities. Mr. President,
you want unity within all African countries than you must start by being compassionate to those in whom you have created a crime against where there was no crime.

Sometimes Mr. President, our conscience has to do what is right against what
the majority of the people want, for the good of all, even if it’s unpopular.
Now that is what makes a good leader. Soon there will be a cure for aids. So how then will you justify keeping and putting innocent gay people into prison. Religion has lied to your people about homosexuality even though yes the act is unnatural, put so is every aberration that is born different and we do not put them into prison, we find ways to either accept or treat the illness if there is one.

Tony aka DJ Sunday Towers God’s DJ Conscience The Truth Be Told

gaskiya

It is an understatement to say that corruption is over blown (Hope he is not misquoted). His excellency is either being deceived or he is deceiving us. Look at the NIS recruitment that has just taken place, N1000 collection from each applicant, Oduah case, $20BILLION missing, (note shell sold off all the downstream project in Australia for only $2.6Billion , this include refinery etc), Alams, Pension Funds, Farouk lawan- Otedola saga etc.
If He is no longer interested doing the job he can decide on other option. I think he is tired, but prayed that God give him more strength to finish his term. He should just go back to Otuoke.
He can only do more term if God decides to punish Nigerians.

for better Naija

Kindergarten President is at it again ooooo…….grow up man

U.A Farouk

Gentlemen we should stop castigating our leader like that,but rather joint hands together in helping him to bail out our dear country

Daud Olaolu

Loosely translated y’all ain’t seeing nothing yet. You go bro it’s South South’s turn to loot the treasury. It is just a matter of time before the water dry up in this fish bowl and all the fishes in the bowl either die or break the bowl to escape. Time will tell my brother time will tell.

EDNAKEMI

My friend, you spoke well, but to Mr.President, it will sound speaking chinese. The reason is that from the onset, Mr. President had told his boss ( the late President Yar’Adua, while the former was lookig for ways to fight corruption,quoted paraphrasingly): “Oga, we should not start what we might not able to end.” This statement has shown Nigerians who are smart that this man GEJ doesn’t consider corruption as a problem, talkless of fighting it.